I didn't mean to love you
by Ivy Springs
Summary: Natalia has just moved to South City with her adoptive family. When she meets the obnoxious boy next door, she's introduced to what could either be a heat wrenching love mess or a beautiful relationship.    Rated T for violence and swearing, might change.  Pairings include AmeBela, FrUk, AmeBel, EstoBela, and others.
1. Chapter 1

Moving to the city of South San Francisco wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was allegedly summer. I asked my older brother is the seasons were mixed up here. He smiled and said no, since the city was near the ocean and the weather was notorious for being "bi-polar". My older sister, Yekaterina, had finally earned enough money for us to move out here. All of us had originally come from the so-called Commie Nations. I was from Belarus, big brother Ivan was Russian, and Yeka had been born in Ukraine. Yeka had adopted Russia and I from a shelter on the border of Switzerland and Austria. We had been going from foster home to foster home through out Europe until Yeka came and saved us. She didn't like Europe all that much, but she loved travelling the continent. On a trip in England she met a fellow by the name of Arthur. He had told her that he was moving to the city since he had found a house there and that they should keep in touch. After a few months he called and told her that the house next door was up for sale. And she should move to America. She had agreed, but it would take her 2 years to get enough money for it.2 years later, there we were, sitting in the dark green minivan, driving down the one-way street to the 2 story house Yeka had broke her back for. I was 8 years old, the year was 2003.

I had the window rolled down, the wind blowing my hair back and up. Boys cruised down the streets on things they called "skateboards", with black hoodies and skinny jeans. Girls on the corner played Double Dutch and drew on the sidewalk in bright blue and pink. I wonder if I could befriend these other girls. Were they the same age? And why did they all have different hair styles and colours?

Yeka finally pulled up to the little house we were going to be living in. Light blue, white trim, black shingles, polished brick porch, and black door. It looked okay to me, but I would come to resent it as high school came around. The house next door looked the same as ours but different colours. Dark red, blue trim, white door. Same porch.

A man was sitting on a lavender chair that was on the porch; he was sipping tea and reading the newspaper. As we pulled closer I saw him look up and….smile?

Yeka got out of the car and approached the man, while Ivan and I got out and dragged out our suitcases. We stood by the car awkwardly until we saw Yeka wave us over. The moving truck had pulled up by this time, so we didn't worry about our bags being stolen. As we approached I noticed how tall this man was. He had these brilliant green eyes that shined like jewels.  
>"Arthur, this is my little sister and brother, Natalia and Ivan."<br>He kneeled in front of me , took my hand and lightly kissed the top of my knuckle. "Charmed."  
>"N-nice to meet you…" mumbled, taking a part of my skirt in both hands and curtsying.<p>

He then turned to my brother, shaking his hand. "Ah!" He remarked. "That's a strong grip you have there." Ivan stayed silent. Arthur stood straight again and turned to my sister. "Would you like to come in?" he asked casually.

"Yes, thank you. But I need to direct the moving men where to the boxes; please keep an eye on them til I get back."  
>Arthur nodded, and on that note she left.<p>

The inside of Arthur's house was simply grand. We took a good look around as we took our shoes off at the front door. Framed pictures of queens and pirates hung on the wall, fine china sat in polished cabinets. Ivan gasped at the sight, I merely drank it in. Arthur broke the silence, asking "Would you two like something to drink? Maybe tea?"  
>We accepted his offer, and he disappeared to the kitchen. We found the living room and sat on the plush couch, swinging our stockinged feet in silence, looking at the Vinyl records hanging on the wall. Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Who.<p>

Were these American bands? I had never heard of them in my life.

I heard feet pounding upstairs; my natural instinct was to cling to Ivan. He smiled and assured me nothing was going on. But fear was clear in his eyes anyways. Then I heard the yelling. Arthur had kids? Was he married? A loud scream pierced my thoughts as a small blonde boy hopped down the stairs, a red cape tied around his neck. He somewhat glared at Ivan for a bit, before pointing at him and proclaiming that we were on his property or something idiotic like that.

They seemed to argue for a while, then I heard him say something he still regrets to this day. "What are you, a Commie?"

From behind, I saw my brother's hands curl into fists as he looked down at him. "Ivan…don't do anything.." I squeaked. The boy looked past my brother and at me with blazing blue eyes. "Woah! Is that your sister?"

Ivan looked back at me, confusion written all over his face. "Uhm.. da. She's my sestra…"  
>The boy bounded over to me and got in my face. For some reason, the most vivid part of that moment was that his breath smelled like greasy fast food, maybe hamburgers or something of the sort. "Wow, she's really cute."<p>

I could see his face better this time. His hair was more of a dirty blonde, and had a peculiar strand of hair that seemed to stay up no matter what hair product was used.

" M'name's Alfred! And I live here with my daddy! What's your name?"  
>"N-natalia…" I softly inquired. He crinkled his nose at me. "Doncha mean Natalie?"<p>

"No. My name is Natalia." I repeated, somewhat annoyed at his ignorance.

"Pretty name for a pretty face. So, what's with Huge McScary guy over there?"  
>He stuck his thumb in my brother's direction, who looked like he really just wanted to tear Alfred's head off. "That's my big brother Ivan…."<br>"Big brother? Well then."

He backed away from me, approaching Ivan. "Pretty girl's big brother? This makes us rivals!"

Ivan stared. Was his stupid boy serious about what he had just said?

Ivan sighed and replied with "I'm not looking for rivalry. All I ask is that you not hurt my sestra in any way. Or else."  
>"Ha! Or else what?"<p>

Ivan grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. "Hurt her and I will snap your neck like a flimsy twig, capeche?

"Ca what?"

"UNDERSTAND?"

Alfred yelped. "Y-yes sir!"

At this time, Arthur had returned with the tea. "Alfred! What did you do this time?"

Alfred gave him a look of surprise. "What? Dad, it's not me, it was all this kid!"

"MY NAME IS IVAN."  
>"I DON'T CARE."<p>

I jumped off the couch and hid behind Arthur, holding onto the cloth of his sweater vest. "Both of you knock it off now!"

Ivan released Alfred, landing him on his bottom. "Alfred, go upstairs."

"But dad-"

"NOW!"

The self-proclaimed hero scurried up the stairs, leaving us three. I van sat back on the couch. His face hid behind his scarf, but I could see how red his ears were turning.

"What happened?"

"Alfred called big brother a communist."

Arthur snorted. "A communist? That dunce, why would he say that? Everyone knows that Russia hasn't used communism in years!"

Ivan looked up at him. "You understand…?"

"But of course!"

Arthur took my hand and led us over to where he was seated. "Listen ol chap, don't mind Alfred. He's a bit of a twit when you first meet him but he grows on you."

Yeka arrived soon after, and we spent the rest of the evening with Arthur, who treated us to dinner, talking about how things ran in America. Yeka mentioned how I was turning 8 next month, as it had been the ides of July then. Arthur suggested having my birthday with him and his family. I found out Arthur had 2 more kids, Matthew and Angelique. He said that he and his partner (I would find out later why he never said wife) adopted children after they moved in together. They all knew they were adopted but loved their parents anyways. We listened to his records and soon I was able to tell the difference between John, Ringo, Paul, and George. I was happy and had been enjoying myself, but, to my dismay, Yeka had told us that it was time to say goodbye to Arthur because we still had work to do at home.

When we had said our good byes to Arthur and his children, we headed back home. Back in Europe, I had to share a room and bed with Ivan. Neither of us minded, we were both young, and fit perfectly in each others arms as we slept. Here, we had our own beds, our own rooms, painted and decorated in the ways we had requested. I late found out that Arthur had helped Yeka pay for some of the paint jobs here, as she was still having money troubles here at the time.

I loved my room; Yeka had it painted the way I had asked her; the way I had pictured my dream room as a little girl. Dark purple walls, with a dusty pink ceiling and white flowers stenciled on the deep blue door frame. 5 cardboard boxes, each labeled with what their contents were, had been stacked by my bedside. We didn't have very many possessions in Europe, so not many boxes were there. I had two for clothes, one for toys and shoes, and another for my favourite pillows and stuffed animal plushes. The smallest one, right one top, held a few art supplies I had saved from Europe.

I was able to unstuck the boxes and began to unpack my things, popping the lid off the box that held my clothes. I simply hated wearing pants as a child, so the only clothes I owned were simple blouses, skirts, and dresses. Pants were never appealing to me and I wouldn't even wear them as pajama bottoms.

On top of my faded white dress was a small plastic bag. I pulled it out and set it on my dresser, sorting out the contents before returning to my clothing. The bag had contained my hair bows, birthday presents from Ivan.

Ever since I found Ivan when I was 3, he had given me a new bow every year. There was a pastel pink from when I was 4, a black satin one from my 5th birthday, another that was once pearly white, but was now faded, from when I was 6. Today I was wearing the one that he had given me last year. It was made of silk and a creamy peach colour. I would never question where he got these gifts, nor did he ever tell me where. Even if he had stolen them, I would not think of them or his gratitude any less.

After I had carefully folded every blouse, my stockings, hung every skirt and dress, and sorted and arranged my shoes, I moved onto the smallest box. On top was my mini white board, along with the black marker and eraser it came with. I had used it to help with my studies at home with Ivan. I set it down and decided it was too warm in my room, so I went over to the window to let in some air. Looking outside, I could see the top floor of Arthur's house, through the window I saw someone looking back at me.

Was that Alfred? No no, that's not him. He has shorter hair, and that stupid strand wasn't sticking up. So…who was it? He waved to me, which I returned. He spoke, but I couldn't hear him, so I put a hand up to my hear, signaling I didn't understand him.

He ducked down, then came back up, holding a whiteboard like my own. On it was written

_are you the new girl_

I quickly retrieved my white board and responded.

_yes. who are you_

_Matthew_

_Alfred's brother?_

_Oui._

I scrunched my face in confusion, and I saw him close his eyes and laugh as he erased his board and wrote back.

_im french. it means yes_

We continued to have our conversations that way for the rest of our summer. I learned that he was continually being mistaken for his brother, but it was never the other way around, so I felt a little bad for him and felt a little guilty that I had done the same. I also found out a few things about Alfred, how he gets over protective over girls when he likes them. I had not known about "crushes" until Ivan explained to me the night before we were to have our first day of American school.

"A crush, sestra, is when you have a certain feeling about someone. Not like a friend, but a warm fuzzy feeling, like you want to hug and kiss them and marry them." he had told me.

Just another part of being a kid, I had assumed.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood in front of my class, hands held together and with a small smile on my face. Regardless of my appearance I was shaking like a leaf in a winter wind. I had been put into a class for foreign children in my grade. Even the teacher herself, Mrs. Heredarvy, was a full-blooded Hungarian woman, and had one of the kindest voice I had ever heard.  
>"Everyone, this is Natalia. Like you, her family has also come from a different country to live in America. She is of Belarusian decent but was raised in Switzerland. Do try to make her feel welcome here."<p>

I looked around the room, trying to not keep eye contact with anyone for too long. There was a girl with green eyes and blonde hair, two boys who I thought to be twins, and 3 kids sitting next to each other, and seemed to be shaking as bad as I was. Maybe they were new too?

She turned back to me and put a hand on my shoulder, kneeling down and pointing to an empty seat in the 3rd row, nest to the blonde girl, whose eyes brightened. "That is your seat, next to Emma."

Luckily for me, my seat was the last one on the end of the row, so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I wasn't prepared for someone like Emma. As soon as I took my place in the blue plastic seat, the teacher gave her instructions for that day. "Today, we will be making name cards."  
>She passed out some thick and heavy paper and continued. "Fold the paper half way, hot dog style. On one side, draw your native country's flag. On the other, write your name in English and your native language. Around that, draw pictures of what you like!"<br>She returned to her desk, and the class began to engage in small conversations as the other kids worked. Emma turned to me. "You're Belarusian? That's so cool! My home isn't too far from yours!"  
>"O-oh..really?"<p>

Her smiled grew wider. "Mmhm! I'm from Belgium!"

"Belgium..like Belgium waffles?"  
>She laughed. "That's what everyone says."<br>Emma had a peculiar interest in cats and tomatoes, as these were the only things that had been drawn on her card. Some time passed, and then I heard a bell ring. I looked to Emma for an answer, and she supplied one.

"It's time for recess!"

She dragged me outside to meet with the other children that were in my class, known as the 'immikids'. Our class wasn't that big, so we only had a handful of children in the room. She pointed a finger at a group of 3 kids. "Those are the shivering triplets!" she proclaimed.  
>"I-I'm Eduard, and I'm from Estonia." said the one with glasses.<p>

"I'm Torii, and I'm from Lithuania." said the lone girl.

"A-and I'm Raivis. And I'm from Latvia." added the shortest one.

"A-actually, we aren't triplets…" the shortest one said. "Y-y-yeah…w-we're just brothers and a sister." added the lone girl in that group. Emma rolled her eyes and continued her introductions. "These are the Vargas brothers! Lovino and Feliciano!"

The two brothers turned to look at me, the darker haired one with a harsh glare and the lighter hair one with a ditzy smile. The dark-haired one, Lovino, simply grumbled something and turned away. What, did he hate the world? The other, Feliciano, stood there with a giant idiotic grin on his face, like he didn't have a care in the world.

Emma drew my attention to the next immikid. "This one is Im Yong Soo. He's from Korea."

I have nothing against anyone from Asia, but he aggravated me from the second I saw him. He was loud, hyper, didn't know the meaning of "sit down and close your mouth for the rest of the class". And the way he talked, adding da-ze to the end of everything. I really did hate him, and so did most of the class. His smile never disappeared however, and during the times I was down and saw him wave to me, I forgot about my sadness and that I actually didn't like him for a brief time.

Regardless, I began to doubt the intelligence level in our group.

At 2:15, the bell rang for school to be let out. I, of course, was that last one to leave because I always take my time to make sure none of my papers are ruined so that they are at least somewhat legible before I hand them in; it was one of the things I learned from Ivan.

As I zipped up my bright white backpack and slung it over my shoulder, Mrs. Heredarvy called me to her desk. Like any normal child would, I was frightened. Did I do something wrong? Did someone snitch me out for putting that stupid Korean in a headlock? Several thoughts swam through my mind as I approached her desk. I was met with her soft compassionate gaze instead of the fire breathing dragons that American teachers were rumoured to turn into. "I received a call from the principal about your way home. Your sister called. It seems that you will be walking home with your neighbors?"

I gulped. "Y-yeah, Angie, Alfred, a-and Mattie…"  
>"Alright. Also, it seems that you will be staying at their house as your sister is still at work. That is all Natalia, have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow."<br>I gave her a quick bow before rushing out, giving her a small wave as I exited. Ivan was standing outside the door, his hands in the pockets of his tan coat and the bottom half of his face tucked under his pale pink scarf. "I assume the teacher told you how we were getting home and with who?" he said. I nodded in response. "Not too happy about it being Alfie." I told him, holding his hand as we approached the front gate. "Really? So why did you call-"

"It slipped!"

I looked back up from the cracked concrete ground to see 3 figures waiting by the gate, one of them jumping like an idiot and waving his hands around. "HEY! HEEEEEEEEY! Over here!"

"Yes yes we can see you Alfred." Ivan retorted as we approached them. Matthew stood behind his brother, giving me a small, shy smile. I loved his smile, I really did. It was so innocent and loving, and he was a complete opposite from his brother. "Hey hey Natalia! Walk with me! I'll protect you!" said the dumbest of our group. I quirked a brow at him.

"What could you possibly do? You're a stupid little boy who can't do anything right. How could an idiot like you do something as big as protect me?"

I crossed my arms. Then he did it. The one thing that made me melt a little, and still does today. He flashed that silly grin of his. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along side him. "Just come on, I wanna show you the neighborhood."  
>I looked back at Ivan, who was shooting daggers at Alfred from behind. Oh boy, this was going to be fun.<p>

Despite feeling scornful at him, I didn't really mind him holding my hand. Sure, they were colder than Ivan's paws and the tiniest bit sweaty, but even then, he held them delicately, like the tiniest squeeze with shatter them like thin glass. As his fingers wrapped around mine, I actually felt somewhat safe with him and my cheeks felt warm. He walked a little ahead of me, pointing out the houses of who lived where, the best houses to go trick-or-treating (whatever that meant). We walked past an old, run down looking place, rusty brown and not very appealing. "This is where Scruffy lives." He proclaimed, pointing to a medium sized doghouse. The paint was a faded blue and cracked and peeling off in various places. Outside the entrance was a washed out green water bowl, 'Scruffy' crudely written around the edge. Ivan gave him a look. "Scruffy?" he said with disbelief.

"He's the biggest, meanest, most strongest and monstrous dog in the neighborhood! If you don't back off, he'll rip you apart and keep your bones and his owner will take your skull and make it into a new dish bowl for him!"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Quit screwing around!" I yelled.

"Grrrrrr…."

The 5 of us froze as a low growl emitted from the doghouse, and a creature lumbered outside of its prison. It was a medium sized lab, with a glistening golden coat, and it looked anything but scary. "You guys are idiots."

I approached it with an outstretched hand.

Next thing I knew, all 5 of us ran screaming, sprinting down the street as the beast gave chase.

A good 10 minutes passed, and not one of as had began to lag yet. Our short legs pumped as we raced to get to Arthur's house. As it came into view, I tripped, skidding on my knees (not ruining my dress thankfully). Alfred stopped, grabbed my hand again and pulled me along the rest of the way. The 5 of us slammed into Arthur's door, ten small fists banging on the door. As soon as the door cracked open, we sped past Arthur, who looked very, very, confused and lost. We went upstairs, skipping 2 or 3 steps at a time. Ivan, Angie and Mattie dove into Matt's room, and Alfred dragged me into his. We collapsed on the floor, catching our breath and crying like babies. I felt pathetic, and embarrassed. I couldn't believe that I showed my soft side in front of them, I usually wasn't scared of anything. I turned my attention to Al. He was on his back, one leg propped up, his right hand resting on his chest, which was rising and falling quickly. Crawling over, I examined his face. I refuse to say gaze because that is NOT what I was doing.

His cheeks were flushed, his eyes closed, skin glistening with a bit of sweat. All that fast food and he can still be fit? He amazed me sometimes. My eyes lingered at his lips for a moment. I wondered for a second, all the possibilities of my actions. What if I decided to lean down a little closer…


	3. Chapter 3

My lips were now mere millimeters from his. Wait a second.

I froze.

We were only kids! There's no way I was giving this boy MY first kiss. And after hearing what that Lovino boy had to say about kissing…just ugh. I didn't think anyone could be dumb enough to actually think that kissing could get you pregnant(except maybe Alfred)

"_You're so stupid! I do not like Alfred!" I screamed at the auburn haired boy, who only laughed. "You're the stupid one! How could you not know how babies are made? It's so easy!"_

_I huffed, which he sneered in return. "EVERYONE knows how babies are made."_

_I raised a brow. "Oh really? Tell me then!"_

_He grinned. "You don't know? When you kiss people! When a guy and a girl like each other they kiss and then they make a baby! I know this because the older boys told me."  
>He smiled like an idiot. "You're a moron, Lovino." I told him. He got mad and tried to hit me, but I out ran him on the playground and had him panting and gasping for breath in 5 minutes. I was always a fast runner, one of the best.<em>

I caressed his cheeks. They were soft and burning. I continued to let my fingers run across them for a few minutes. "Natalia…"  
>"A-alfred?"<br>His eyes stared into mine. My heart raced. "A-Alfred…I-I…"  
>The words stuck in my throat. What was <em>wrong <em>with me? I was staring down at the kid I swore I would never like in forever. And now I get tight-lipped and scared? What the actual hell?

"Hey. You're all red..you okay?"

Before I could answer the door swung open. Alfred bolted up quickly, smacking his forehead into mine. "OW!" we screamed in unison, holding our heads. "Oh mon ami, you need to be more careful!"  
>I looked to the source of the voice. A tall, lean man with golden hair was standing in the doorway. "Are you two okay?" he asked, his voice coated in a thick accent. "O-ow…papa…I hit my head!"<p>

_Papa. What about Arthur?_

Alfred rolled away from me and got up, running to the other man. "I'm so glad you're home!"  
>He kneeled down to see eye to eye with Alfred. "Oh don't cry my little one." He cooed, kissing Alfred on the forehead. Something I was too afraid to do. The older man's eyes flickered to mine. " And who is this? A friend of yours?"<br>I stood up, but didn't move from my spot. This man was his papa? Oh, right! Arthur once said something about his partner being away for a little while. But…was this him? Another man?  
>"Natalie! Come meet my other papa!"<br>_Other papa._  
>"My name is Natalia." I snapped, before covering my mouth at my rudeness. "I'm sorry…" I squeaked. The man just smiled. "Come closer, I won't hurt you."<br>I walked towards him, soon standing next to Alfred. "Hello s-sir." I whispered. "Bonjour, mon cherri. I'm Francis, Arthur's partner. You are Natalia, oui?"  
>I nodded. "Yessir."<br>"You are very cute Natalia, and have a pretty name to go with it."  
>I blushed and covered my cheeks, looking down. "Th-thank you sir."<br>Alfred tugged at Francis' arm. "Papa, papa! What did you bring back?" he asked enthusiastically. "You want to see? Come on then, I brought enough for everyone!"  
>We exited to the hall way. The door to Matthew's room opened. "Papa!"<br>"You're back!"  
>Matthew and Angelique sprinted out and jumped onto Francis' legs, huge smiles lighting up their faces. Arthur stood at the end of the hall, in his arms a small bundle. <em>What's that<em> I thought. "Come on, give papa some space. He has a lot of unpacking to do."  
>Francis gave him a smug look. "Oh Arthur I haven't seen them in a while, plus I'm sure they want to meet their new brother. "Brother?" Angelique detached herself from Francis' leg and hopped up and down. "Another brother? I wanna see, I wanna see~!" she cried.<br>"That's gonna be so cool! I get another playmate!"  
>Ivan stepped out of the room, hiding his face inside his scarf. He had a tendency to do that when he became shy. "Brother, come out and say hi…" I said to him. He looked up at Francis. "Hello sir…"<br>You could barely hear him through the fabric. Angelique, Matthew, and Alfred had ran over to Arthur, asking to see the baby. I gave Ivan a small smile before joining them. Arthur didn't lower the squirming, whimpering bundle in his arms. "Now now, you'll bother Peter. Come downstairs and be gentle. He's not very old."  
>We followed him downstairs like little sheep and into the living room. He sat on the couch while we gather around him. I got to take a look at the baby. He had dark eyebrows and huge, glimmering pale green eyes. They stared at me in wonder as the others made comments.<br>"Lookit his eyebrows! They're huge!"  
>"Alfie, be nice! He's just a baby!"<br>"He's holding my finger, Angie! Look!"  
>"He's so cute! Oh I can't believe we finally get to see him!"<br>"Wait until he grows up, he'll be so cute!"  
>Arthur couldn't look any happier than he did at that moment. "And I'm sure you'll all be helping out more now that there's a baby in the house, right?"<br>He looked at us all. "Yes sir!" we all replied in unison.

At 8 PM, Yeka came home. Arthur opened the door for her, and she didn't look so good. She was pale and her short blonde hair was a ruffled mess. "Oh my goodness Yekaterina, are you alright? Come here, sit down."  
>He helped her to the couch in the front room, where she sat down with an exhausted sigh. "Work was a little tough today." She laughed weakly. "Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday."<br>Ivan and I ran in, grabbing her hands. "Yeka! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" we asked worriedly. She smiled and shook her head. " Just tuckered out from work. Are you two okay? How was school?"  
>We proceeded to tell her about the trip home from school and the new baby. Francis walked in, holding Peter in one arm and feeding him with a bottle in the other. "You must be Francis." Yeka said as he approached her. Arthur returned from the kitchen with a glass of water and some aspirin. He gave it to Yeka, who thanked him. "Oui, and you are Yekaterina? It's a pleasure to finally to meet you."<br>He sat next to her on the couch. "Same to you sir." She took the pill and swallowed it down with some water. "I hope my sister and brother weren't too much of a bother for you."  
>"Oh of course not! Ivan and Natalia were very good today. And might I say what adorable children they are."<br>Ivan and I smiled. "They are, aren't they? They're rather well-behaved."  
>Ivan and I left the room, going to the living room where the other 3 were playing. Ivan sat down to play with the cars they had out, where I ran upstairs to get my back pack. Upon entering Alfred's room, I walked over to his bed, where I had carelessly tossed it under earlier. Laying on my stomach, I scooted myself under. Grabbing the strap, I slid out, pulling it with me…and then turning to see two ocean blue eyes looking at me.<p>

I almost screamed, but caught myself and covered my mouth. Alfred laughed hysterically. "I scared you didn't I?" he shouted, rolling on the floor holding his sides. "You shoulda seen the look in your eyes!"  
>He stood up after a minute of laughing. I wasn't amused. At all. I frowned. "What do you want?" I asked him. Yeka called my name from downstairs, saying that we had to go. "It's your birthday tomorrow right?"<br>"Yeah, what about it?"  
>He grinned. Grabbing my face, he pulled me forward and planted a big, wet kiss on my forehead. "There's your present!" he said triumphantly. I blinked a few times before grabbing my bag and running down stairs. Alfred kissed me. Alfred KISSED me. On my forehead.<p>

He. Kissed. Me.

Okay, not an ACTUAL kiss. But it was still a kiss!  
>I wandered downstairs in a slight daze. Ivan asked me if I was okay and I replied that I was fine. "I'm just a little tired from running a lot today." I told him. Which was half true. We said good-bye to everyone and then left. Ivan held my hand tightly and the short walk home. It was still somewhat light outside but it was a bit chilly outside. "Brrr, it's cold out here.." Yeka murmured. Ivan and I agreed with her. Once we got to the front door, I looked up at the window where Alfred's room was. He was waving at me like an idiot. I only smiled in response, since I couldn't move my arms. They felt like they were frozen to my sides.<p>

Yeka had gone straight to bed as soon as we got home, so Ivan and I ended up going to our rooms for the rest of the evening. I sat on my stool, brushing my hair in the mirror. My hair grows fast. When we got here, it barely touched my shoulders. 3 months later, and it was now almost near the middle of my back. It's very thin and straight, so I usually have almost no knots or tangles, so my hair is easy to get through in one sitting. I set the brush down and smoothed it out. I was having my birthday party tomorrow, so I had to get some rest before it started. It was planned for 1 in the afternoon at Arthur's house. He had the idea of holding it in his backyard because there was a lot of room, even though only a few kids were going to be there. Then I remembered that I had invited my entire class, and their parents or whoever was taking them would also be there. The Vargas brothers, Emma, the shivering triplets, Yong Soo, and even Mrs. Heredevary said that she would try to make it, and maybe bring her husband along. He was a music teacher at a middle school near-by, one that Yeka said I was gonna go to in a few years. Woah, that is a lot of people. I tend to forget those kinds of things. "Good thing Arthur and Francis have a big backyard.." I murmured, smoothing my hair down yet again even though it was already as straight as I could get it. I sighed and rested my elbows on the table, holding my head in my hands and staring at my reflection. My CD player sat on the dresser my bed, with a CD case sitting on top. I looked at the time on my clock. 9:30 PM. _Where did the time go?_ I thought. I was still in my day clothes, so I changed into my nightgown. It was super soft and dark purple, one of my favourites. Climbing into bed, I popped the player open and took the CD out of its case, and then setting it inside the CD player. I pressed play then settled into my covers. A few years ago, Yeakterina had showed us a movie called Anastasia, yes, the one about the rumoured lost princess of Russia. My favourite song from the movie was Once Upon A December. Yeka found a CD that had the song on it, and it was in 10 different languages! It had, in order, French, Russian, Icelandic, English, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Hungarian, Italian, and Polish. My favourites were the Russian, French, and German ones. They were pretty languages and I had learned to sing the song in every language on the CD. I closed my eyes and had fallen asleep by the time the English version had ended.

((Oh boy, hey guys! Sorry abut the long wait! You will not BELIEVE what i have been through in these last few months. Here's the update, hope you enjoyed it!))


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